Yama

Quick Facts

About Yama

God of death and righteousness, father of Yudhishthira by Kunti's mantra. As the crane and the yaksha at the enchanted lake, he tested his son's wisdom; as Dharma he was incarnate in Vidura.

In Their Words

What is the greatest wonder? That men die daily, yet the living believe they will live forever.

Yama

Traits

• just
• testing
• inexorable
• fatherly

Story Appearances

• Ancient BeginningsDharma in the epic's design❧ 22 min
• The Questions of the YakshaThe yaksha of the lake❧ 18 min

Stories Featuring Yama

138 further tales on this site name Yama, in canonical reading order.

• Half a Life for LoveRuru, Pramadvara, and the SnakeAdi Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Sage on the StakeAni-Mandavya and the Birth of ViduraAdi Parva ‧ 11 min
• Krishna at Sandipani's AshramThe Fee Paid to DeathAdi Parva ‧ 6 min
• The Apsara Sent to Break a SageMenaka's fear, and the child left on the MaliniAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Watch Under the BanianOne brother awake while the rest of the Kurus sleep on bare groundAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Priest of DrupadaThe envoy, the guarded answer, and the weapons laid out to catch a king's sonsAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Lineages of Gods and DemonsVaishampayana recites the descent of every creature from Brahma and the daughters of DakshaAdi Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Lake Called BinduWhere Maya found Bhima's club and Arjuna's conchSabha Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Hundred Questions of NaradaA sage audits an emperor before he lets him boastSabha Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Vow of the Soft TongueVyasa's warning, and the promise Yudhishthira made insteadSabha Parva ‧ 16 min
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hallSabha Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Five Halls of the GodsNarada describes the assemblies of the world-guardiansSabha Parva
• The Divine ArsenalArjuna's Ascent to IndralokaVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• Savitri and the Lord of DeathThe Wife Who Argued Yama Into DefeatVana Parva ‧ 28 min
• The Sun's Wife and the ShadowSurya, Sanjna, and the Forging of the WeaponsVana Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Sage Who Defeated DeathMarkandeya, Shiva, and the Conquest of DeathVana Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Court of Sages at the Dvaita LakeAn exile that filled up with brahmanas instead of soldiersVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• Damayanti Alone in the ForestHalf a garment, a hunter, and a road out through strangersVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Map of the WorldsA priest naming the four quarters of the cosmos from a mountain shoulderVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Road to Yama's CountryWhat each gift becomes on the walk after deathVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Testimony of the ElementsWhat Rama said when she was brought back to himVana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Ford of the FathersWhat a son is for, learned before KurukshetraVana Parva
• The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not saidVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Quarrel Before the CattleAshwatthama tells Duryodhana what his kingdom is made ofVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• Garuda's Map of the WorldThe four directions described from a bird's backUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Choosing of the GeneralissimoFive brothers name five different men, and Krishna names the sixthUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will dieUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Signs Before the WarWhat Vyasa saw in the sky, the cattle and the birth-roomsBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fightBhishma Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten SonsDay six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on footBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missedBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth dayBhishma Parva ‧ 15 min
• Sanjaya Describes the EarthThe blind king asks what the earth is worth, and his charioteer answers with the whole of itBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Night the Sindhu King Asked to LeaveJayadratha wants his horses saddled, and Drona tells him the truthDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Women in the TentSubhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu diedDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kurukshetra Day 14: The Longest DaySunset Vow, False Dusk, and a Battle That Would Not Stop at NightfallDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Grandson of Shini Crosses the OceanOne chariot sent through the whole Kaurava hostDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Second Man SentBhima's crossing and the roar agreed on beforehandDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Bow Tip and the BoastKarna keeps his word to Kunti and pays for it in insultsDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• One Man Against an Army of the NightAshwatthama burns a full akshauhini of Ghatotkacha's rakshasasDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single nightDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Three Men and a Drawn SwordKarna boasts, Kripa answers, and Ashwatthama draws on his own sideDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Krishna Had Already DoneArjuna asks, and gets a list he did not expectDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Dart That Was Never ThrownA blind king asks the only question that matteredDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• Kurukshetra Day 15: The Day the Teacher DiedFrom the Dawn Prayers to the Half-Truth at NoonDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Held Back by Bhima's ArmsSatyaki and Dhrishtadyumna nearly finish the war for the KauravasDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The One Who Walked Ahead of the ChariotArjuna finally asks who has been winning his battlesDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop himDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Elephant Corps and the King of AngaBhima breaks Duryodhana's elephant division and beheads the Anga king in mid-fallDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Stake on the TableDrona tells Duryodhana that the dice in the sabha were arrows, and that Jayadratha is what they are playing forDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The King They Thought Was DeadBhima's mace crushes Duryodhana's chariot, and both armies believe the Kuru king killedDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Fourth Son Karna Let GoKarna disarms Sahadeva in the night battle and sends him away aliveDrona Parva ‧ 11 min
• The King Put Off His ChariotSatyaki kills Duryodhana's horses and driver, cuts his bow at the handle, and the king escapes on Kritavarma's carDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Telling in the RoutAshwatthama rides back through a fleeing army to ask what happened, and Kripa has to tell him how Drona was killedDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• Karna Takes the FieldThe vow that kept him out of ten days of war, and the grief that brought him into itDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot killDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is deadDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The One Who Walked Before the CarVyasa tells Arjuna whose lance was breaking the ranks in front of himDrona Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mouth of the GarudaDrona draws his host as a bird and comes for Yudhishthira on the twelfth morningDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Field at DuskSanjaya describes the evening of the thirteenth day, and the army that won walks home through itDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Road to JayadrathaArjuna breaks through the head of Drona's array on the fourteenth morning, from the omens at dawn to the river of bloodDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Stones and the Golden KingSatyaki kills Sudarsana on the road to Arjuna, and cuts the mountaineers' stones out of the airDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Drupada Said About DuryodhanaFive kings die in front of Drona in one afternoon, and Drupada names the man who is not on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him RudraDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Night Falls on the Fourteenth DayAshwatthama breaks the Panchalas after dark, Drona looses the wind weapon, and Krishna pulls Yudhishthira out of a fight he is winningDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's carDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• Karna by Night Against the PanchalasThe armies throw down their torches, and the Suta's son scatters Dhrishtadyumna and all of Panchala in the darkDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duelsDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Arrow Cut in the AirSatyaki saves Dhrishtadyumna from the preceptor's shaft and holds three great bowmen at once, and the day ends with Drona's head in the dustDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Bhima Carried From the FieldAshwatthama's afternoon after the Narayana weapon, and the shaft that took Bhima's charioteerDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Portents Before the Fourteenth DayThe night the sky and the rivers answered Arjuna's vow, and the morning ritual of a kingDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Shape of GhatotkachaSanjaya describes the rakshasa's body, chariot and host as he charges Karna at midnightDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Duel the Gods ApplaudedAshwatthama and Bhima fight to a standstill and are carried off senseless by their own driversKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• Sahadeva Against DushasanaThe quiet twin puts one arrow through the man Bhima had sworn to killKarna Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Elephant Standard Comes DownDhrishtadyumna leaves Duryodhana without horses, driver, weapons or banner at noon on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 18 min
• Ashwatthama at Dhrishtadyumna's ThroatThe vow he very nearly kept on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The First Duels of the Sixteenth DayBhima kills a king off an elephant, Satyaki kills two brothers, and Draupadi's sons kill two moreKarna Parva ‧ 17 min
• Dandadhara of MagadhaTwo brothers on elephants, and the field Krishna made Arjuna look atKarna Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Kings of the East FallSatyaki, Sahadeva and Nakula break the elephant corps of the eastern kingsKarna Parva ‧ 11 min
• Karna and Satyaki ClashOne Vrishni holds the Kaurava army, and the sixteenth day ends in dustKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Prince Who Went In for ShikhandiKripa strips Shikhandi on the seventeenth day, and a young ally buys him a way out with his lifeKarna Parva ‧ 12 min
• Satyaki Unhorses ShakuniThe seventeenth day breaks into single combats, and the gambler of Gandhara is carried off the field by his sonKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• Arjuna Rides Out for KarnaThe car is yoked again, the omen birds go on ahead, and the field between Arjuna and Karna breaks into duelsKarna Parva ‧ 23 min
• Arjuna Cuts His Way to KarnaAn army ordered to tire one man before Karna kills himKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Vows Before the Final DuelKarna, Shalya, Krishna and Arjuna each say what they will do when the other man diesKarna Parva ‧ 24 min
• Karna's Tales of the MadrakasThe abducted woman's curse, the rakshasa's ranking of dirt, and a driver who cannot get off the chariotKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Anointing of the War GodEvery god brings a gift to a six-day-old commanderShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Duel on the Southern BankTwo pupils of one teacher settle a war with clubsShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Verdict at the Fallen KingBalarama's plough, Duryodhana's indictment, and the flowers that fell from the skyShalya Parva ‧ 17 min
• Duryodhana Rises from the LakeTaunted in the water, the last Kaurava comes up armed and asks for one man at a timeShalya Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Last Words of DuryodhanaBroken-thighed on the field, the Kuru king laments his dead, sends his last words home, and names a general with a dying man's hand.Shalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Eighteenth MorningChekitana takes a lance, Suratha takes a single arrow, and Duryodhana is carried off his own field by bolting horsesShalya Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Afternoon of the Eighteenth DaySatyaki takes Kritavarma's car again, Duryodhana holds the field alone, and the last elephants fallShalya Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Being at the GateAshvatthama offers himself to MahadevaSauptika Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Duel of the Brahmashira WeaponsAshwatthama and Arjuna loose the world-ending astra at Vyasa's hermitageSauptika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Day the Rod VanishedWhat happened to the world when Chastisement disappearedShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Two Who Argued Over a DebtDesire and Wrath come to court in ragsShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Night Janaka Opened the SkyBefore the battle with Pratardana, the king of Mithila shows his army heaven and hellShanti Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Gods and the SalavrikasVyasa answers Yudhishthira's guilt with the war heaven fought for thirty-two thousand yearsShanti Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Debt Penance Could Not PayYama climbs the Paripatra hills, and Gotama asks him what is owed to a mother and a fatherShanti Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Tribes Beyond the PaleBhishma names the peoples of the borders and dates them to the ending of the first ageShanti Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Eighth Portion of VishnuSanatkumara tells the defeated Vritra what holds up the universe, and Bhishma tells Yudhishthira who Krishna isShanti Parva ‧ 23 min
• Does Consciousness SurviveYudhishthira asks whether anyone is left awake in the emancipate state, and Bhishma answers out of the Sankhya of KapilaShanti Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Seven WindsVyasa halts a recitation on the Himavat and names the winds that move the worldsShanti Parva ‧ 21 min
• The King Who Chose HellVipashchit and the Compassion That Emptied a HellShanti Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Sinner Who Called the NameA fallen brahmin saved at death by the holy nameShanti Parva ‧ 10 min
• Righteousness, the Only FriendBrihaspati comes down from the sky to tell Yudhishthira what follows a man past deathAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Savitri Mantra of SalutationsBhishma gives Yudhishthira the roll of names to be said at dawnAnushasana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Names That Cleanse SinAsked what destroys sin, Bhishma answers with a litany of gods, rivers, mountains, sages and kingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 15 min
• Tandi and the Ten Thousand YearsA rishi meditates for a hundred centuries, sees Mahadeva, and hymns him as the end of all five roadsAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Five Forms of MarriageBhishma on how a daughter is given, what a dower does not buy, and the honour owed to womenAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Wrong Man Before YamaA crow-faced messenger seizes the neighbour instead of Sarmin, and Yama sends him home with a rule of lifeAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Sraddhas Under the ConstellationsYama's calendar of offerings to the fathers, and the king who won the earth by itAnushasana Parva ‧ 13 min
• Flowers, Incense, and LampsThe goddess Earth tells Krishna what a household owes each day, and Shukra tells Bali which flowers belong to which beingsAnushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• Rules for a Long LifeBhishma sets out the conduct of an ordinary day, and how brothers should hold togetherAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part OneThe deities, the Pitris and the Rishis each give up a duty whose reason is secretAnushasana Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Mysteries of Religion, Part TwoLomasa, Arundhati, the night-wanderers and the elephants of the quarters give up the last of their secretsAnushasana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Child Who Stopped Indra's ArmA boy on Uma's lap holds the thunderbolt in the airAnushasana Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Boy Who Questioned DeathNachiketa at the House of YamaAnushasana Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Old Woman, the Snake, and DeathGautami and the Truth of KarmaAnushasana Parva ‧ 9 min
• The King Who Became a LizardNriga's long penance for one careless wrongAnushasana Parva ‧ 9 min
• The Elephant the Sage Called SonGautama argues his way through every heaven for a stolen calfAnushasana Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Horse SacrificeArjuna Follows a Wandering Horse, and Dies at His Own Son's HandAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Naked Priest of VaranasiHow a king outbid Indra for a brother nobody wantedAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 31 min
• Where the Kingdom EndsA sentence of exile that its author could not locateAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Earrings of MadayantiA pupil grown old, and a bargain with a man-eating kingAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Great JourneyBook 17 - The Pandavas Walk North to Die, and the Dog Who FollowedMahaprasthanika Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Ascent to HeavenBook 18 - The Last Illusion, and the End of the StorySvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Yama's Story

Drawn from the stories Yama appears in.

• Dvaitavanaद्वैतवन
• Amaravatiअमरावती
• Mount Kailasaकैलास
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Badarikashramaबदरिकाश्रम
• Manipuraमणिपुर
• Brahmalokaब्रह्मलोक
• Naimisharanyaनैमिषारण्य
• Chediचेदि
• Kamyaka Forestकाम्यक वन
• Madraमद्र
• Shalvaशाल्व

Related Characters

Others counted among the Divine Beings.

• ❉Krishna
• ◭Hanuman
• ❧Kacha
• ≈Goddess Ganga
• ★The Eight Vasus
• ॐSage Vyasa